Slide 2.

Chapter 2
Formulating and clarifying the research
topic

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.2

Formulating and clarifying your research

topic
The important steps

• Identifying the attributes of a good research topic

• Generating ideas that help you select a suitable

topic

• Turning ideas into clear research questions and

objectives

• Writing your research proposal

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.3

Characteristics of a good research topic

Appropriateness: is it worthwhile?

• The scope of the research topic that you choose and the nature of the research
proposal that you produce will need to meet the requirements of your
examining body (such as your university, professional body or other accredited
organisation).
• It will be important to use existing theory from the academic literature to inform
your choice of research topic and in the development of your research
proposal. As part of your assessment criteria you are almost certain to be
asked to consider the theoretical context of your research topic in your
research proposal.
• It is also important that your topic will have symmetry of potential outcomes:
that is, your results will be of similar value whatever you find out (Gill and
Johnson 2010). Without this symmetry you may spend a considerable amount
of time researching your topic, only to find an answer of little importance.
Whatever the outcome, you need to ensure you have the scope to write an
interesting project report.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.4

Characteristics of a good research topic

Capability: is it feasible?
• Your research topic must be something you are capable of undertaking.

• Capability can be considered in a variety of ways.

• At the personal level you need to feel comfortable that you have, or can develop, the skills
that will be required to research the topic.

• We hope that you will develop your research skills as part of undertaking your project, such
as those related to data analysis. However, some skills, for example, learning a new foreign
language, may be impossible to acquire in the time you have available.

• Your ability to find the financial and time resources to undertake research on the topic will
also affect your capability. This relates, in part, to the concept of feasibility.

• Capability also means you must be reasonably certain of gaining access to any data you
might need to collect. Many people start with ideas where access to data will prove difficult.
Certain, more sensitive topics, such as financial performance or decision making by senior
managers, are potentially fascinating. However, they may present considerable access
problems.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.5

Characteristics of a good research topic

Fulfilment: is it relevant?
• Your research topic needs to be one that excites your imagination and in which you have
or will develop a genuine interest.

• Most research projects are undertaken over at least a four-month period.

• A topic in which you are only vaguely interested at the start is likely to become one in
which you have no interest and with which you will fail to produce your best work.

• It may also be important to consider your future aspirations.

• If you wish to obtain employment or pursue a career in a particular subject area, it is

sensible to use this opportunity to start to develop some expertise in it.

• It is almost inevitable that the extent to which these characteristics apply to you will
depend on your research topic and the reasons why you are undertaking the research.
However, most are likely to apply.

• For this reason it is important that you check and continue to check any potential
research.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.6

Generating and refining research

topics
Rational thinking Creative thinking
• Examining your own • Keeping a notebook of your
strength and interests ideas
• Examining staff research • Exploring personal
interests preferences using past
• Looking at past project projects
titles • Exploring relevance to
• Discussions business using the literature
• Searching the literatures • Relevance tree
• Scanning the media • Brainstorming

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.7

• Rational thinking
– Examining your own strengths - It is important that you choose a topic in which
you are likely to do well and, if possible, already have some academic
knowledge.
– Looking at past project titles - A common way of doing this is to scan a list of
past project titles for anything that captures your imagination.
– Discussion - Colleagues, friends and university tutors are all good sources of
possible project ideas.
– Searching the literature - These include reading articles in academic and
professional journals; reports; or books.
– Scanning the media- Keeping up to date with items in the news can be a very
rich source of ideas.
• Creative thinking
– Keeping a notebook of ideas and interests - All this involves is simply noting
down any interesting research ideas as you think of them and, of equal
importance, what sparked off your thought.
– Exploring personal preferences using past projects -Select few projects that
you like, note down your first thoughts, What appeals to you about the project,
What is good about the project, Why is the project good etc.
– Relevance trees - you start with a broad concept from which you generate further
(usually more specific) topics. Each of these topics forms a separate branch from
which you can generate further, more detailed subbranch.
– Brainstorming - a problem-solving technique on many business and
management courses, can also be used to generate and refine research ideas.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.8

Refining research topic ideas

• Using the Delphi Technique

• Conducting a preliminary study -------Shadowing

• Integrating ideas

• Refining topics given to you by your organisation

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.9

Refining research topic ideas

The Delphi Technique

The standard Delphi method involves a researcher using a

purposive sample of participants who are knowledgeable about the
topic to be discussed; asking these participants to write down their
answers anonymously to some initial questions to gather their
opinions and perceptions; analysing these answers thematically;
using this to generate a second round of questions to gain
participants’ feedback to the initial responses; repeating this process
until a consensus is reached about the topic in order to inform
decision-making, policy or practice.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.10

Refining research topic ideas

The Delphi Technique
▪ The initial round of questions is likely to be ‘open’ or ‘semi-open’, while
subsequent rounds of questions are likely to be more focussed and
structured. ( Brady 2015 ).

▪ One use of this technique, known as ‘Policy Delphi’, draws on these

characteristics albeit in an informal and face-to-face way. Its intention
is to encourage the identification of refinements or alternatives to an
initial research idea.

▪ You use a small purposive sample of your classmates or colleagues

who have some subject knowledge about and interest in your initial
research idea, to generate related ideas, evaluate these and perhaps
to arrive at a consensus around a specific research idea ( Paraskevas
and Saunders 2012 ).

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.11

Writing research questions

Write research questions that are

• Consistent with expected standards

• Able to produce clear conclusions

• At the right level ( not too difficult )

• Not too descriptive

• Use the ‘Goldilocks Test’

Clough and Nutbrown (2002)

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.12

Writing research questions

The ‘Goldilocks Test’

▪ The ‘Goldilocks test’ to decide if research questions are either ‘too big’, ‘too
small’, ‘too hot’ or ‘just right’.
▪ Those that are too big probably need significant research funding because
they demand too many resources.
▪ Questions that are too small are likely to be of insufficient substance, while
those that are too ‘hot’ may be so because of sensitivities that might be
aroused as a result of doing the research.
▪ This may be because of the timing of the research or the many other
reasons that could upset key people who have a role to play, either directly
or indirectly, in the research context.
▪ Research questions that have been written to take into account the
researcher’s capabilities and the availability of resources, including time
and the research setting, are more likely to be about right.

Clough and Nutbrown (2002)

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.13

Turning ideas into research projects

Examples of research ideas

and their derived focus questions

Table 2.2 Examples of research ideas and their derived focus research
questions

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.14

Turning ideas into research projects

Include SMART Personal objectives

S pecific

M easurable

A chievable

R ealistic

T imely
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.15

The importance of theory

• Asking for opinions and gathering facts – 'what' questions
(descriptive research)

• Using questions that go beyond description and require

analysis – 'why' questions
Phillips and Pugh (2005)
In order to:

Explain phenomena Analyse relationships

Predict outcomes Compare and generalise

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.16

Threefold typology of theories

Grand, middle range and substantive theories

Creswell (2002)
Figure 2.1 Grand, middle-range and substantive theories
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.17

Threefold typology of theories

Grand, middle range and substantive theories

‘Grand theories’ are usually thought to be the province of the natural scientists (e.g.
Newton’s theory of gravity, Darwin’s theory of evolution or Einstein’s theory of
relativity).
These may be contrasted with ‘middle-range theories’, which lack the capacity to
change the way in which we think about the world but are nonetheless of
significance. Some theories such as Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs and
Herzberg et al.’s (1959) two-factor theory of motivation are well known to
managers and would be in this category.
However, most of us are concerned with ‘substantive theories’ that are restricted to a
particular time, research setting, group or population or problem. For example,
studying the implications of a cost-saving strategy in a particular organisation
would be an example of a substantive theory. Although they may be restricted, a
host of ‘substantive theories’ that present similar propositions may lead to
‘middle-range theories’. By developing ‘substantive theories’, however modest,
we are doing our bit as researchers to enhance our understanding of the world
about us. A grand claim, but a valid one!

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.18

Writing your research proposal

Purposes of the research proposal

• To organise your ideas

• To convince your audience

• To contract with your client (your tutor)

• To meet ethical requirements

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.19

Content of your research proposal

• Title - likely to change during the process

• Background - context within the literature
• Research questions and objectives - what you seek
to achieve
• Method - can be in two parts: research design and
data collection
• Timescale and Resources - (finance, data access,
equipment)
• References - include some key literature sources

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 2.20

Evaluating research proposals

• How the components of the proposal fit together

• Viability of the proposal

• Absence of preconceived ideas

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009